The bin liner

Inside the bin we’ve got this liner, which is waterproof and also helps contain the smell.

We own two of these colorful liners, and we wash one every time we do diaper laundry.

w00t.

The sprayer

The lynchpin of our cloth diapering setup is this sprayer. It attaches easily to your toilet’s water supply, you don’t need a plumber or anything to install it. Got a little holder up here to contain the nozzle.

When you’ve got a poopy diaper, you turn on the water with this valve here, then spray down into the toilet to clean your diaper. Takes a few times to get the hang of it so you don’t spray the heck out of yourself. But this is poopy water we’re talking about, so you learn pretty quick.

Bac-Out

After I rinse a diaper, I’ll give it a few sprays of Bac-Out and drop it in the bin.

Done deal.

UPDATE: We’ve stopped using Bac Out or any similar spray. Just found that we didn’t need it, and that our washing machine and detergent got out all the funk on its own.

Laundry Time

When we’re down to a few clean diapers, it’s time to do a load. So we wheel the bin out to our high-efficiency washer and load it up. This is the nastiest part of the process, because I reach into each dirty diaper and pull out the insert before throwing them in. And these are diapers that have been marinating in pee for several days. But it only lasts a minute or two, so no biggie.

We use Method laundry detergent, because it’s natural and you don’t need to use much.

Then we do the load on “heavy duty” wash.

After the wash, we dry the inserts in the machine, and hang the liners on this bamboo clothes rack.

The inserts are super-absorbent, so you’ve got to dry them for a cycle and a half, or even two. And the liners dry quickly, in half a day or so.

That’s it

So that’s our cloth diapering setup. We’ve been at it now for about 8 months and got it down to a science, to the point where it really isn’t a big bother in our lives at all. And the benefits of cloth diapering are tremendous.

Jen Wike Huger Sep 16 at 12:34 pm

Team Mama Natural Sep 17 at 12:23 pm

Jesse Nov 20 at 12:55 pm

Hi! Love your website and all the posts! Im learning so much and feel super inspired to get going with the cloth diapers asap. Were expecting our first in a month! So Im wondering, have you ever tried the hybrid diapers? Like gdiapers or grovia? I understand you love the bumgenius 4.0, but Im under the impression that you must wash the entire diaper after each pea or poo. With hybrids it seems you can reuse the main cloth diaper through out the day and just clean the inserts. Im reading/researching as much as I can but haven’t really found the answer to that one, and from your perspective why bumgenius is truly the better option. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and answer this one!! Cheers!

Cara Dec 7 at 8:31 pm

I have no idea if this comment is actually recent or not, but I’ve been a happy hybrid user for four years now. Yes, you can reuse the shell multiple times, as long as it stays clean–that generally happens if you change the baby enough that the pee doesn’t soak through to the cover. I love the flexibility of hybrids–my favorite combo is Thirsties duo-wrap covers and Flip stay-dry inserts (which are made by the bumGenius people). I also like the Thirsties fitteds for overnights. The covers are 2-size rather than one (0 – 9 months and 10 – 36 months), so you have to buy twice as many, but they fit a lot better–the leg gussets are key in my experience. And of course, if you’re going to reuse them for siblings, they have more life left in them when you’re done–our size 1s are about to wrap Baby #3! P.S. Genevieve, why don’t you just pull the inserts out of the pockets before you put them in the diaper pail?? I’ve never been a fan of pockets because they seem really fussy, but our diaper source (Kelly’s Closet, great company!) gives them away as gift-with-purchase so we have a handful by now. I find them useful for overnight because they’re so absorbent, but the stuffing/destuffing routine wasn’t for me. But I do always unstuff them when I put them in the pail so I don’t have to remember to go back and do it later!

Casey Jul 23 at 7:51 am

Did you use the regular bum genius 4.0 diapers on baby when he was a newborn? If so, how was it with the umbilical cord? Do they adjust small enough for a newborn? I’m new to cloth diapering. I saw bu genius has a diaper specifically for newborns but I’d rather just have be one size and use that forever.

Arica Apr 27 at 10:26 am

Hi!

Quick question – why don’t you pull the insert out right when you pull the diaper off the babe? Why wait until before you throw them in the laundry? I’m waiting for my cloth diapers to arrive from Amazon so this question comes from a place of pure ignorance!

Stacy @ Nourishing Health Apr 25 at 9:50 am

Jillian Feb 23 at 9:21 am

HI, I was wondering when you started cloth diapering your newborn. Some (i’ve heard) dont fit them when they are in the first few days. Did you do flats/prefolds with covers? did you do a newborn rental? buy them second hand?…I’m looking for the cheapest/easiest way to do it for the first few days until the baby grows into the bumgenius.

Shannon Jun 15 at 9:20 am

With my first I did a 3 month rental. However, just like you mentioned, they did not fit properly. This lead to my husband not being on board to continue. The rental person was wonderful and switched out brands and let us keep them longer than normal but he was just so tiny (falling into the 5th percentile). I’m expecting number two and this time I’m buying prefolds and making my own diaper shells with just PUL to wipe and reuse (like Best Bottom brand). I’m determined to do it this time!

Brenna Stanford Jan 9 at 6:15 pm

Hi Jennifer! I see this post is old, so I’m sorry if it’s of no help. I wanted to share just in case anyway.

I am expecting my third and have decided to cloth diaper. My husband isn’t keen on the idea so I’m doing ALL the research I can to make sure this is as easy of a transition as possible.

I saw her recommendation for that spray and her update about not needing it. However, I will probably end up using my Thieves Household Cleaner as a pretreat spray. I’ve got some posts about it on my blog, awakenustomotion.com

Joni Nov 19 at 3:59 pm

Hi Genevieve! Thank you so much for all of the information you share! We have 5 children and I have never cloth diapered until now with number 5! We have really changed our way of living/eating and we are loving it!! I am really excited to cloth diaper! She is 9 months old and I am getting ready to purchase all the items you mentioned in your post/video. I was wondering though if you have trouble with build up in the diapers from the soap you use? Do you have to strip them often? And last question, are y’all still using Method detergent and Bac Out? Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you!

Sarah Jun 7 at 10:04 pm

I’ve been cloth diapering for 3 years now since our first was born, who potty trained 9 months ago and for our second since birth who is 10 months. Both children have been exclusively in cloth. I know we have hundreds of diapers and that sounds crazy but its not our logic really is sound. We have a full stash of small, medium & large prefolds, and some toddler… We have some muslin flats and fitteds to use with wool for a newborn and some newborn aios… We have all sized of wool and some thirsties and sweetpea covers we use over the flats we have in our travel stash which is onesize because its just flats and os covers. We have a stash of one size and large fitteds for once the snappi can be removed and my kids won’t home still and need to be snapped into diapers but still in wool and we have some grovia aios/ai2s to cover outings and play dates ( fast and trim and waterproof) accept anywhere there is a poly laminent we use natural fibers, no leaks and absorbs perfect… I rinse, power wash on warm with soap nuts, ( currently top loader was using a front for 2.5 years) rinse, rinse and spin, then I dry a few minutes and hang them up inside or out. I just toss them in a wetbag when wet and spray out dirty ones with the sprayer spray pal before they go in the bag. I wash every 48 hours max and I haven’t had any smells and only a few stains that will eventually sun out 😉 we love your videos you’re a riot…

heather Feb 2 at 7:58 pm

Carolyn @ Eat.Live.Be Well Dec 20 at 11:30 am

Hi Genevieve, Your video on cloth diapers is great (as is your video on stripping). I’ve been using cloth (prefolds / covers and now BG 4.0s) since the birth of our girl. I’m having a bit of a diaper rash issue with her so I’m going to strip them. She is only 3 months old so I’m not sure what’s causing it. We were using Molly’s Suds detergent and am not switching back to BG brand.

Question: When washing, do y’all only wash on heavy duty? Do you do any additional soaking or rinsing?

Lis Aug 17 at 12:02 pm

Lis Aug 16 at 3:21 pm

Is Method detergent still working good for you guys? I am thinking of switching over to is as that is what I use on my clothes but I see that lots of detergent lists for diapers do not recommend it. Do you find it causes build up on your diapers or does it work well after long term use? Thanks.

It’s been fine for us. I’ve been using Charlie’s Soap lately to see if that works better and frankly don’t notice a big difference. The only thing I’ve noticed is that air-dried clothes do seem to be a bit softer using the Charlie’s Soap.

Shannon Jul 25 at 5:44 pm

Hi, I’m also looking for a homemade bac-out recipe– I googled it and stumbled upon this page. 🙂 I bought some about 2 weeks ago and I’m already about out. At $9 a bottle this is kind of an expensive habit! Thanks!

Roxane Jul 27 at 3:57 pm

Never use Bac out and my cloth diapers do not smell. We use vinegar in the first rinse cycle. I second that BG 4.0 are the best cloth diaper . I have Charlie Banana also and hate the snaps now that baby is on the move (9 months ).

Leah Sep 24 at 11:50 am

Can you share more about using vinegar during your rinse cycle? Also, do you have hard water? We have been having stink issues (ammonia) every few months and trying to tweak my wash routine with each strip. Trying to decide if I should give vinegar a try– we use cotton prefolds and PUL covers. I’ve heard vinegar is not good for PUL and can react and can sometimes cause more stink issues with harder water. Share your experiences with it if you will:)

ivoylou Oct 28 at 5:19 am

Leah, what u could do is when u change the child diaper wash off the feaces, so when wash it wont be hard to get off, and u can soak them in vinegar and lemon water before u put them in washing machine

Mallie Jul 28 at 4:11 am

I’ve discovered a lot of other BG users who skip the Bac-Out and have no problem… and since it’s an enzyme, there’s some worry that it could void the warranty (and potentially decrease absorption). I am thinking of putting mine back in the closet until my little guy starts on solids and starts making nasty poops. I also came across someone who diluted it by half. I haven’t tried that so can’t attest to its success, but it would definitely make the Bac-Out cheaper!

Mallie Jun 5 at 4:28 am

Hi! Just curious how essential Bac-Out is to the process… Also, have you come across any homemade version? I ask because I like in Korea and I’m not sure I could find something like Bac-Out, and I have a feeling Amazon.com won’t ship it! Thank you.

Alyssa May 12 at 6:55 pm

I second Maggie’s question. We will be having our first in August and have chosen bumGenius 4.0 diapers as well. I am curious as to how well they fit newborns. I know Griffin was over 7lbs when he was born, so did you just use the one size on the smallest setting? Or did you get some of their newborn diapers as well?

We used the BG 4.0 from newborn till now at 20 months old. They are fully adjustable and I just set to the smallest size. Griffin was 7 lbs 13 oz and they worked great. Sure, they’re a little bulky at first but they definitely fit.

Maggie Mar 23 at 7:34 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this info! I’m expecting in October and fully committed to cloth diaper. I’m debating getting the BG newborn size diapers – did you do so? You showed one in your video, but I wasn’t sure if you got them and if so, how many you need. Thanks!

We used the BG 4.0 from newborn till now at 20 months old. They are fully adjustable and I just set to the smallest size. Griffin was 7 lbs 13 oz and they worked great. Sure, they’re a little bulky at first but they definitely fit.

Stacey Mar 1 at 10:00 am

Kortney Feb 12 at 8:09 pm

Thanks so much for the amazing videos! We just found out (Thursday) that we are expecting our 1st little sprout in October! Since I am vegan, I am extremely keen on being a natural mommy (even though I am terrified) and the cloth diapers seem to be a no brainer. However, I was wondering what you do about cloth diapers when you are out & about. Thanks again for all of your help- your blog is so encouraging!

Hi Kourtney, Congratulations! We carry a diaper bag with extra cloth diapers and a little bag that is insulated so we can put any type of mess in there :). Works great. When we travel overnight, we use disposables. XOXO.

Elizabeth May 21 at 8:21 pm

Amie May 19 at 8:47 am

My husband also picked out the bumGenius 4.0 diapers to use and we LOVE them. Instead of waiting until laundry day, we pull out the inserts before putting them in the bin and then just dump it all in the front loader without having to touch the diapers a second time. 🙂